Engine Break-in

I came across this article that talks about a hard break-in that is pretty much the opposite of the easy break-ins that most manuals recommend for the first 500-1000 miles. I'm curious of peoples thoughts on the break-in. Especially from those who have been rough on their brand new engines.

http://mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

more of his newsletters:
http://mototuneusa.com/thanx.htm

 

I have had 2 new Tacomas and 3 new 4Runners (Not all at the same time of course) and I just drive them the way they will be driven while I have them. NEVER had a problem from any of my Toyotas

 

I was told to shift alot for the first few hundred miles or so.... like stay away from interstate..... i think it is to break in the clutch assembly..... dosen't matter to me i only use my clutch in first anyhow.....

 

I followed the break in as stated in the manual. I don't really think it makes a difference but I always follow the manual when it comes to that.

 

I saw that mototune article before I bought my bike and it makes alot of sense. Today's engines are very finely honed- so you get very little opportunity to seat them right.

Drive it like you are going to drive it day to day- avoiding steady speeds early-as that will seat the piston rings and associated items while the hone is still on the cylinder and it will get the engine ready for what it will face day to day.

Gotta practice like you play...

 

True, but some engines are not tolerant of hard driving conditions over long periods of time. Many of the old Acura V6s had issues with being ragged out all the time. They quickly developed oil leaks and busted piston rings - to say nothing of failing automatic transmissions. I have seen several old Acura Legends that ran like crap and smoked like chimney.

Sad... I really liked my Acura Legend.

 

YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!!


Sorry, I had to. I wish I had the expertise/tools to do that kind of work on an engine.

 

I just read the article and thanks for passing that on. Years ago I had rebuilt (early 70's) a Triumph 650 twin that I had ridden and inadvertantly knocked the manual choke lever full on and the rich conditions did not do much good to the engine, of course we eventually found out what the problem was. So I decided to rebuild it , after taking the cyclinders to a very good bike builder for over size honing, he did give me some advice on breaking in the new engine.
Realize this is info from the late 60's, long before high tech engines and precision engine building.
After assembly and before start up, he suggested I put a certain ratio of Marvel Mystery Oil , in with the gas , providing a little extra lubrication on a new engine. He also told me to drive it medium speed around town during warm up and then a whole lot faster on our rural roads, here in MA. However, he did stress not over over rev it or leave it at one rpm speed for a long time, varying the rpms over it rev scale.
It was to get two to three tanks of fuel and Mystery oil and then change the engine oil and use the max oil weight approved and return to straight gas... he then considered the engine broken in, suitable for full throttle and bouncing the tach at the limit. This machinist built race engines, all classes of bike engines and street motors.
I don't know what his recommendation for other engines was but the info supplied was for rebuilt bike engines. I cannot remember how many miles 3 tanks of gas would have been on that Trumpet.
The engine always ran very well and I always remembered to be sure the choke lever was in the correct position. This was not the hotter twin carbed motor of that era, but the single carb twin, but it sure held its own. Had it for a number of years with no motor problems.

I have followed the time honored way I always broke in new engines, low to medium rpms, no lugging of the motor, shifting often, ALWAYS allowing the engine to completely warm up and varying the engine speeds and thus rpm's , which included trips on the highway.
Not sure if I would like to chance hard earned money as I really could not afford to buy a new truck if this system did not work out.....

All that being said I would like to here more on this style of break in.... things change as does the style of modern engine building and modern machining techniques and modern materials.
Just consider modern race engines in the past number of years, 1000hp out of 1.5 litre, turbo engines, V-10's, V-12's of around 3 litres making 900 hp at 15 thousand rpm and modern day F1 motors making 800hp out of 2.4 litres, reving to 21 thousand rpm's.
Jeff, 06,V6,6spd, 4x4 SR5

 

Very few engines automotive wise need break in time , there have been many studies and tests even by consumer reports to back this up. Motors have come a long way so has technology you can legitimately start with synthetic from mile 1 . Someone else i believe also just posted a test done on new york city cabs reinforcing this theory a few days ago. Many vehicles today are coming with syhthetic right from the factory, this is a good sign it means quality components are going into todays engines.

 

You're right. I mean, I still change the initial fill at 1500 on a new vehicle (I guess I'm old school?) because it makes me feel better but there's probably no really legit reason other than that.

 

I followed the same procedure on my new 2009 as I have on my new sportbikes. It is the same break-in procedure as used in the aircraft industry...

 

Apparently I wasted my time, lol... It probably couldn't hurt anything though...

 

True enough!

 

Chris did that info come from a 1960s service manual.